Bern

Arrived from Zurich and spent the night at Bern Backpackers.. highly rated from Hostelworld =)


Bern intro:
Bern is the political capital of Switzerland. Even though it is only the 5th most populous city. The official language in Bern is German, though like the rest of Switzerland, people do speak a French as well. The bear is kinda like the symbol of Bern, and you can see bears everywhere.. haha.. I only spent like 1 morning in Bern so all i could do was to walk around the city to take in the major sites..

We had breakfast and went for a little walk around the old city..

We see some bears here below a statue..

On a clear day, it is possible to see the Bernese Alps from this bridge (according to my brother)..

The first thing is noticed about the city is how green it is.. the tall trees.. very nice landscape =)

Bern is built on very uneven ground.. a river loops around the old city..

Cute tiny bike..

Bern's most famous sight.. the Zytglogge (Bernese German for Time Bell), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets..

Chocolate and pastry shop..

A medieval stretch of road.. Kramgasse.. dotted with fountains every 50 metres of so. At the top of the fountains are mini statues of local folklore heroes..

Einstein lived and worked here as a clerk once! Apparently he worked on his Theory of Special Relativity here.. (now a museum)

I love the flags =)

Dam system to control the flow of water in the river that comes from the melting ice in the mountains.. prevents flooding..

If we zooooom in.. we see more bears!

A 15th century gothic cathedral, the Münster..

Views of the river from a small park behind the Münster..

The Bear Pit.. literally a hole in the ground where there used to be live bears..

A long climb up a steep slope... my brother and i reached the Rose Gardens.. But there weren't any roses??

But at least there is a view =)

Oh ya i haven't introduced my brother to everyone haha.. his name is Wong Liang Yew, Damon. =) do we look alike?